NEW YORK (AP/WFAN) — Terry Collins is a major league manager once again, hired by the New York Mets to help revitalize a franchise that has struggled on the field and at the gate.

A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press of the hire on condition of anonymity Sunday because the two sides were still working out terms of the contract. The person said an announcement is expected early in the week.

According to WFAN’s Jon Heyman, the Mets have offered Collins a 2-year deal.

Collins was chosen over a group of finalists that included Wally Backman, Chip Hale and Bob Melvin. He takes over for Jerry Manuel, who was fired along with general manager Omar Minaya in a restructuring of the front office following another dismal season.

The Mets already have hired Sandy Alderson as their new general manager, and former major league GMs Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi as his assistants. All of them had input in the decision to hire the 61-year-old Collins, who has not managed in the major leagues in 11 years.

Collins interviewed for the second time with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, Alderson and his assistants on Thursday in Orlando, Fla., where major league owners and GMs were meeting.

The other finalists also were brought in for a second round of interviews.

“It’s not just a question of who we are. It’s a question of who we want to be as an organization,” Alderson said earlier this week. “It was interesting for us to find out whether that vision was shared by others. And in some cases, it might have been confirmed. In some cases, it might have caused us to rethink what we had ourselves imagined.”

Collins is certainly familiar with the Mets roster after serving as their minor league field coordinator this past season. He also has some experience with the front office, after nearly succeeding Jim Tracy as Los Angeles Dodgers manager five years ago when DePodesta was the club’s general manager. That plan fell apart when DePodesta was fired.

Collins also was considered for the Mets job when Willie Randolph was hired before the 2005 season. He managed the Houston Astros from 1994-96 and the Anaheim Angels from 1997-99, going 444-434 and finishing second in the division five of his six years in charge.

He takes over a Mets franchise that had a $133 million payroll last season yet finished 79-83, 18 games behind the rival Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. New York hasn’t been to the playoffs since reaching the 2006 NL championship series.

The organization is expected to undergo a complete overhaul the next couple of years, as Alderson and his lieutenants begin to rebuild a weak farm system and find ways to escape from under the weight of burdensome contracts doled out to underperforming players like Oliver Perez ($36 million) and Luis Castillo ($25 million).

Injuries left the team in disarray last season, and at least some of those problems will linger when the Mets convene for spring training in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Star pitcher Johan Santana is expected to miss the start of the season following shoulder surgery, while Jason Bay, signed to a $66 million contract last offseason, will be coming back from a season-ending concussion sustained in late July. Outfielder Carlos Beltran, slowed by a bad knee, is owed $18.5 million in the final season of his seven-year deal.

In the bullpen, closer Francisco Rodriguez is coming off thumb surgery for an injury sustained in an August fight with his girlfriend’s father outside the family lounge at Citi Field.

The Mets evidently believe Collins is the right fit to pull all those seemingly disparate pieces together, and perhaps return interest to a club that watched as attendance plummeted last season in its second year at Citi Field.

Tune in to WFAN Tuesday for the Mets’ press conference to officially announce the hiring of Collins.

One Comment

hey Grumpy-old-granddad,the man was already paid for his services, baseball is a business, he’s 36 going to be 37 yrs old. If Tom Seaver was traded in his prime(best pitcher I ever saw and loved) and Reggie Jackson (best gamer, ever)was not resigned when it comes to Jeter, who we all love, so be it. Rewarding a player for what he has done is crazy. The Yankees made Jeter and not the other way around. Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, Dimaggio have come though the Yankees door, past & gone, Icons of baseball and the Yankees continue the be the Yankees. The Yankees can & will survive without Jeter. The Yankees are a brand and not Jeter, as great as he is, but these are the Yankees, always have been abd alwats will be.

hey Grumpy-old-granddad, the ignorant one here is you because you can’t see the forest for the trees. You brought up the Red Sox and now that I gave you a beat down you’re crying like a little girl. No surprise Mets there, fans love to dish it, but never can take it. As for Steroids, 16 Mets players were on the Mitchell report for using steriods while playing for the Mets, let’s not forget Reyes having his blood spun by an HGH doctor in Canada just this year as well as Beltran. You sound angry, I wonder why, my guess is the truth hurt and this is the way a moron response when FACTS are given and he can’t take it. LOL,LOL

hey Grumpy-old-granddad, if and when, and that’s an if the Mets ever win, then come talk to me. Other then that keep your tears to a limit, your eyes may go dry by JUne 2011. As for Boston, Yankeees have beaten Boston so many times we stopped counting after 27. I guess like most Mets fans, you jump on the band wagon due to the Mets not winning in 24 years. I guess that’s also because the Mets made history by choking the Divison two years in a roll , ’07 & ’08. Tell us again how the Mets will win the World Series. I’m asking because every year Mets fans have the Mets winning the title and are done by June.

Are you ignorant? THis article is about the Mets. What do you care about the Mets? You root for the Bronx team. Why don’t you go read how the Bronx team is going to settle their aging problems? Go read how they are going to compensate their Hall of Fame shortstop and Hall of Fame reliever. These articles are intended for real fans of baseball. Not fans who leave when their team is getting smoked in the playoffs.

Since you brought up “choking” ….what was that historic exhibition of choking in 2003 against Boston. It isn’t like the Bronx team had a 3 games to zero lead? …oh yeah, they did. It isn’t like Boston had to win 4 straight …oh yeah they did. It isn’t like it NEVER happened in baseball before…oh yeah it never happened before….It isn’t like Boston went on to win the World Series…oh yeah, they did.

I guess steroids couldn’t save the Bronx team in 2003.

And your greatest words of wisdom are “you jumped on the band wagon due to the Mets not winning in 24 years”… take a good look in the mirror…thats the face of someone on the band wagon.

hey Grumpy-old-granddad. That team in the Bronx won the title just last year and it’s 5th in the last 14 yrs, 27th total. When was the last time the Mets won? I’ll tell, being that you’re probably suffering with dementia, like most Mets fans. Mets last won 24 yrs ago. Yankees fans never have to worry, they’re there every year, the title is always there for the Yankees taking, unlike the Mets, another year of suffering in 2011. Later gramps

Hey Vic from the Bronx….its a simple question….where were the “greatest fans in the world” after the 7th inning in games 3 and 4…I guess you left early too. (Hey even Boston came back from three games down to go on to win the World Series…oh you forgot that too)

As far as “the title is there for the taking” ..so your team left it for another team to take?…yeah you make alot of sense….Now go worry about your team…

what happened Mutts fans? Backman was not the guy. Let’s see how many of those crying Mets fans will not go see the Mets play now that Backman was not the guy hired, but Collins was, even if the Mets are in first in June. My guess is Mets moron fans will buy tickets, why because Mets moron fans are hypocrites. Remember, you buy tickets to see the players play and not the manager. If attendance is low, which they will be, is because this team, like the past few teams, SUCKS!!

Hey Vic from Brooklyn…I am assuming you are one of those “real baseball team fans” from the Bronx who stick with their team through thick and thin…except of course after the 7th inning (games 3 and 4 )when their team is getting smoked by the Rangers. Anyway why dont you worry about your team and we’ll worry about ours.